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Arts Advocacy Day on March 21 could not have come at a more important time this year, as the White House's skinny budget proposes defunding key arts and culture agencies, eliminating the National Endowment for Art (NEA), the National Endowment for Humanities (NEH), and the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS)—not to mention the Corporation for Public Broadcasting—among others.

on arts funding

A budget is a blueprint of priorities. The proposed White House reduces critical support for artists, writers, scholars, and cultural and educational organizations, including art museums, potentially risking the cultural infrastructure that is critical to the nation’s wellbeing. Looking solely at numbers, the arts and culture sector alone contributes 4.2% to the GDP and supports more than 4.8 million jobs—in small towns as well as large cities—confounding the notion that drastic cuts to arts spending will strengthen the country, economically or otherwise. But the value of these agencies and their work defies simple quantification. Arts and culture are critical to the development of creativity, emotional intelligence, and critical thinking—three areas that benefit all areas of human activity.

Here in Chicago, a city that struggles to combat poverty and crime, arts funding provides necessary resources for communities whose underfunded public schools are hit hardest by economic decline. Mentorship programs for at-risk youth instill students with confidence and self-sufficiency. Funding for our museums and libraries supports after-school programs and teacher training. The arts help us reimagine our city for the better by offering new perspectives on how to solve problems of systemic poverty and crime peacefully.

Like many other American museums, the MCA has benefitted from the generosity and foresight of our federal arts agencies. To see how these agencies make a difference at the MCA, just visit our Collection page—support from IMLS was crucial to digitizing our collection, which we now share online with people all over the world—and NEA grants have helped fund more than 152 of our exhibitions since 1972. Read in detail the ways these organizations have contributed to our museum in the #DayofFacts post. In addition, the NEA and NEH together distribute more than $1 billion in grants to organizations and individuals in all states and territories of the United States. Support such as this bolsters local economies, yes, but it also catalyzes the creative potential of Americans from all walks of life and secures our nation’s strength and success in a globalized world.

How have the arts impacted you? Let your representatives know by joining us on select Tuesdays to write postcards in our fourth-floor lobby (follow us on social media to find out when). Stamped postcards, pens, and talking points will be provided. If you can’t make it to the museum, express your support for the arts by contacting your representatives and continuing to arm yourself with data.

Short Two elderly men wearing suits embrace in a kiss while two other men look on smiling and clapping.

Short Two elderly men wearing suits embrace in a kiss while two other men look on smiling and clapping.

Long This is a photograph that appears to have been taken at a wedding. Two men, around 70 years old with thin, greying hair and fair complexions, are kissing and embracing. The men are wearing identical grey suits and similarly shaped dark framed glasses. Directly behind the embracing couple a younger white man with dark hair is smiling. Next to him, a white, late-middle aged man in a formal suit and tie, is clapping and smiling. The clapping man will be identifiable to Illinois residents as Pat Quinn, former governor of Illinois. The men are embracing inside an interior lit with daylight, with white curtains pulled back as decorative accents. What appears to be a champagne glass is visible in the far right corner of the photo.

Short Three plants, a rectangular clock, and a rock sit on an office desk, illuminated by a minimal, LED desk light.

Long An aralia, succulent and snake plant sit on an office desk with a large, rust colored volcanic rock. The rock sits on a book titled "Fucking Apostrophes". A rectangular, white clock with a countdown to Christmas sits behind the rock and book.